scholarly journals Are Metropolitan Areas Primed for Success? A Prosperity Risk Index for Evaluating Economic Development Patterns

2020 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 323-337
Author(s):  
Richard Sadler ◽  
Dayne Walling ◽  
Zac Buchalski ◽  
Alan Harris
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Risk Index ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
Regional Dynamics

Urban areas differ greatly in their exposure to economic change, their trajectory toward recovery and growth, and the extent to which development and equity are paired. Some of this differentiation can be explained by regional dynamics, policies, and migration flows that influence the composition of economic activity, land use, and population characteristics. Simultaneously, the fortunes of center cities are known to often correlate with metropolitan characteristics, yet the interaction of socio-spatial conditions with multi-level governance and development processes—particularly with respect to how prosperity is shared across municipal lines and is distributed among communities—is under-researched. In this article, we use a GIS-based and quantitative approach to characterize such patterns and evaluate regional differences among 117 mid-sized metropolitan areas in the Eastern US with a population between 250,000 and 2,500,000. Our analysis rests on initial GIS-based inquiries to define city, urbanized area, county, and core-based statistical area-level measures of municipal fragmentation, geographic sprawl, racial segregation, economic inequality, and overall poverty. These five characteristics are combined to propose a prosperity risk index for each region. Further, indicators of economic performance such as job and population growth are inverted to create an economic vulnerability index. An interaction model is run to determine relationships among the indices to highlight both the regional differences in these characteristics that became noticeably significant in the analysis and the linkages of spatial patterns of economic growth and social equity. Analyzing these multi-scalar regional dynamics illuminates the socio-spatial patterns that deserve attention in urban economic development theory and, subsequently, offers a framework for evaluating public policy and development practices. We likewise offer two comparisons of outliers as a means of illustrating potential directions urban areas can take toward economic development. These findings are valuable for local economic development practitioners who may be seeking further contextual/comparative information on urban regions, or for others interested in understanding the dynamics behind urban planning that may drive regional competitiveness and prosperity.

scholarly journals In Search of a Tool to Support Planning inside Large Cities: the SustaIn-LED Model

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 61
Author(s):  
Giuseppe Umberto Cantafio ◽  
Petros Ieromonachou
Keyword(s):  
Quality Of Life ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Environmental Sustainability ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Metropolitan Areas ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
P Value ◽  
Large Cities ◽  
Innovation Policies

The aim of the present study is to investigate the linkages between local economic development, innovation, and environmental sustainability inside urban areas. Can innovation affect the improvement of the quality of life inside urban areas? This research question comes from the consideration that usually innovation and growth in general are considered sources of conflict in affecting the livability of large cities. The objective of the paper is to design a model — the “SustaIn-Led” - to connect levels of environmental sustainability, quality of life, and economic development inside metropolitan areas, taking into account also innovation processes, activated by the innovation policies and by the knowledge economy. The study takes in consideration the 53 largest United States metropolitan areas with a population over 1 million, with a time series from the years 2000 through 2015. This has been done because of a two-fold reason: (1) the US among high-income countries is the one with the highest number of universities, patents, and citations; (2) several studies have shown that innovation occurs in large cities. The first part of the present study has carried out the identification of the variables to represent and significantly explain the phenomena – local economic development, innovation, and environmental sustainability – linked to the design of the SustaIn-LED model. Environmental sustainability in urban areas in this paper is represented by means of the Air Quality Index (AQI), while the number of workers synthetically quantifies local economic development. Correlation and multiple regression analyses are conducted in order to examine the relationship between the three main indicators. The multiple regressions for the year 2015 produced a low p-value, indicating that the predictors are significant in the regression analysis. Similar results of p-value are shown in all the years from 2000 to 2013. For 2015, the results showed that part of the variance in the measure of total workers of the metropolitan areas could be predicted by measures of innovation and air quality. Higher R² values have been registered for the years from 2000 through 2013. The development of the SustaIn-LED model could be utilized in urban regeneration processes to help in the design of new urban planning policies inside large cities by means of a better comprehension of environmental and economic implications caused by the implementation of innovation policies.

Regional Structure and Economic Development

2013 ◽  
pp. 153-176
Author(s):  
David S. Bieri
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Regional Growth ◽  
Explanatory Power ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
The One ◽  
Classification Of Regions ◽  
Economic Regions

This chapter investigates several aspects of how local economic development and growth are shaped by regional differences in industrial structure on the one hand and interregional linkages on the other hand. The author begins by proposing an alternative regional classification of regions for U.S. Metropolitan Statistical Areas (MSAs) on the basis of clusters that were formed by principal component analysis from economic variables that are relevant for regional growth. These variables include labor productivity growth, measures of local industry mix, human capital, entrepreneurship, and innovation. He then uses these growth-based regional clusters to control the presence of cluster-specific fixed-effects when explaining the spatial characteristics of urban specialization and concentration in the United States. The empirical validity of these new economic regions are evaluated against alternative established classifications such as the BEA Regions, Crone’s (2005) Economic Regions, the Census Regions, and the Federal Reserve Districts. Looking specifically at the empirics of regional growth both in a traditional ß-convergence setting as well as a dynamic panel setting, the author examines the explanatory power of regional differences in economic structure such as industry concentration, employment specialization, and sectoral diversity.

Prospects for local economic development in the north of England under the coalition

2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (8) ◽  
pp. 679-683 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Ward
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Regional Development ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Coalition Government ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
Development Agencies

Britain's coalition government, elected in 2010, is making radical changes to the institutions for local economic development in England, scrapping New Labour's Regional Development Agencies and setting up weak, non-statutory Local Enterprise Partnerships. However, sharp regional differences remain between the North and the South, and the new arrangements are unlikely to achieve the coalition's avowed aim of rebalancing the economy.

scholarly journals Community-controlled economic development as a strategic vision for the sustainable agriculture movement

1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-44 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dave Campbell
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Sustainable Agriculture ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Development Theory ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Regional Food ◽  
Strategic Vision ◽  
Agrarian Communities ◽  
Social Agendas

AbstractThe threat to sustainability posed byglobal economic integration and the surging interest in local and regional food systems provide an opportunity to unite the diverse constituencies of the sustainable agriculture movement behind a common political and economic agenda. Neither the campaign to influence the Farm Bill nor a romantic vision of bygone agrarian communities are sufficient to broaden the movement's existing political base and deepen its influence. This paper suggests an alternative approach: grassroots organizing guided by the vision of “community-controlled economic development.” Theory linking this new paradigm in local economic development to sustainable agriculture is presented, along with practical examples from innovative networks promoted by the California Alliance for Sustainable Agriculture (CASA). I analyze the experience of CASA organizations, both separately and as an alliance, to illuminate how a strategic vision of community-controlled economic development can enable the movement to meet three difficult political challenges: holding power accountable; unifying environmental and social agendas; and developing strong leadership accountable to the movement's community base.

Local Economic Development in Area-based Urban Regeneration in Germany

2009 ◽  
Vol 24 (6-7) ◽  
pp. 523-535 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sabine Weck
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Urban Regeneration ◽  
The State ◽  
Federal States ◽  
The City ◽  
Insight Into

The article is intended to give insight into the state of the art of local economic development in area-based urban regeneration in Germany. The impor-tance of local economic development has been widely recognised and a series of workshops, evaluation reports and programmes has been initiated to promote this policy area. A set of policy programmes has been developed to support integrated action in distressed urban areas. There are no radical changes in the different programme designs, but rather subsequent adaptations and amplifications through time. Policy learning has taken place in a process cutting across all levels of government. The state of the art of local economic development is illustrated using the example of the city of Gelsenkirchen in order to see how different funding programmes on the national and/or Länder (federal states) level are applied and combined on the local level, and how they help to formulate an integrated urban renewal approach. A range of policy challenges remains. The challenges on the local level include, for example, the development of strategic capacity in designing and implementing local-economic development measures.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Evolution and Regional Differences in the Production-Living-Ecological Space of the Urban Agglomeration in the Middle Reaches of the Yangtze River

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (23) ◽  
pp. 12497
Author(s):  
Yanqiong Zhao ◽  
Jinhua Cheng ◽  
Yongguang Zhu ◽  
Yanpu Zhao
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Spatial Patterns ◽  
Regional Differences ◽  
Yangtze River ◽  
Urban Agglomeration ◽  
Theil Index ◽  
The Yangtze River ◽  
Temporal And Spatial Patterns ◽  
Temporal And Spatial ◽  
Land Space

The urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, which is the second largest urban agglomeration in China, represents a typical land space range of ecological vulnerability in China. Large differences occur in economic development mode between resource- and non-resource-based cities in this basin area. Accurate identification of the evolution and regional differences in the production-living-ecological space (PLES) is very important in order to elucidate the development and utilization of land space in the region. At present, relevant research has largely focused on the classification and determination of PLES temporal and spatial patterns. Temporal and spatial pattern research has mainly considered a single scale of administrative division, whereas fewer studies have analyzed the temporal and spatial patterns and regional differences in the PLES in ecologically fragile natural watersheds. Therefore, based on PLES classification, the regional differences in the PLES between two types of cities in the basin are measured via the Theil index and exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA). First, the ecological space (ES) of these two types of cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is compressed by the production space (PS) and living space (LS), in which the ES of resource-based cities is compressed for a longer period, and the phenomenon involving PS compression by the LS and ES mainly occurs in non-resource-based cities within the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River. Second, the PLES of these two types of cities exhibits the characteristics of spatial aggregation, and high- and low-density areas of the PLES remain relatively stable. Third, the regional differences in the PLES of the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River mainly originate from intraregional differences. The PLES of these two types of cities in the urban agglomeration in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River is more sensitive to changes in economic development than to those in the population distribution.

Infrastructure Provision as a Catalyst for Local Economic Development in South Africa

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mandisa SM Makhathini ◽  
Victor H Mlambo ◽  
Siphesihle Mpanza
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Economic Development ◽  
Rural Areas ◽  
Urban Areas ◽  
Local Economic Development ◽  
Review Of The Literature ◽  
South Africans ◽  
Infrastructure Provision ◽  
The Government ◽  
Rural Dwellers

Throughout the era of the apartheid, the provision and accessibility of infrastructure in South Africa was skewed, and while the minority had access, the majority was overlooked. Local economic development (LED) has rested on the premise that the availability of infrastructure is likely to spur socio-economic development and to lift millions of South Africans out of poverty. However, with South Africa’s economy struggling to register consistent growth, there are difficulties accessing the much-needed finances needed to invest in infrastructure to spur LED. The study that this paper reflects upon used a qualitative research method and a systematic review of the literature relating to infrastructure provision and local economic development. It utilised thematic content analysis to deduce its findings with the hope of bringing in meaning to the overall content of the paper. The study revealed that indeed infrastructure provision is key to local economic development, that South Africa’s infrastructure provision is still skewed as urban areas continue receiving priority over rural areas; that local economic development is key in reducing inequality and spurring economic growth and sustaining the livelihoods of rural dwellers. However, limited investments in infrastructure in rural areas hinder the realization of such benefits. It recommends that the government prioritise LED in rural areas among other suggestions.

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